by The United States condemned on Tuesday 20 December the The decision of the Taliban ban Afghan women from attending universities, describing it as “indefensible”.
“The United States strongly condemns the Taliban’s indefensible decision to ban women from universities, keep secondary schools closed to girls, and continue to impose other restrictions on the ability of women and girls in Afghanistan to exercise their human rights and their fundamental freedoms,” said State Department spokesman Ned Price.
Price said the Taliban’s decision to restrict girls from attending secondary schools in March had “significantly impacted” the US engagement with Afghanistan and that the Taliban had promised it would be temporary.
“Now, we hear the opposite: An order from yesterday’s so-called Ministry of Higher Education says that women can’t even attend universities,” Price said. “Furthermore, the Taliban has permanently condemned Afghan women to a darker and more barren future with no opportunities. No country can prosper when half of its population is arbitrarily detained.”
The Taliban said the decision was to preserve the “national interest” and “honor” of women, Al Jazeera reported. Credit: US Department of State via Storyful
Video transcription
– The United States strongly condemns the Taliban’s indefensible decision to ban women from universities, keep secondary schools close to girls, and continue to impose other restrictions on the ability of women and girls in Afghanistan to exercise their human rights and their fundamental freedoms.
The Taliban’s decision to close secondary schools to girls last March had a significant impact on our engagement with Taliban representatives. The Taliban promised the people of Afghanistan and the international community that schools would reopen, saying it was a matter of procedure and that the agreements would be quickly reversed. Now we hear the opposite.
An order from the so-called Superior. Yesterday, the Ministry of Education declared that women cannot attend universities, nor with the entry into force of this decree, half of the Afghan population will soon be unable to access education beyond primary school.
Afghanistan is already losing more than $1 billion a year in contributions women could make to the economy. Now the Taliban have imposed these losses on the Afghan people for the indefinite future.
Furthermore, the Taliban has permanently condemned Afghan women to a darker and more barren future without opportunities. No country can prosper when half its population is arbitrarily detained. Education is an internationally recognized human right and is essential for Afghanistan’s economic growth and stability.
This unacceptable stance will have significant consequences for the Taliban and will further alienate the Taliban from the international community and deny them the legitimacy they desire.
